"Forward-thinking and tenacious people around the world are working on projects that can curb climate change, but too often, they never get the chance to scale up their projects," said Jacquelyn Francis, founder and director of the Keeling Curve Prize. "The Keeling Curve Prize helps problem-solvers turn promising projects into widespread solutions."

The prize is named for the Keeling Curve, which shows the steady increase of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere over decades.

"It's essential that we bend that curve â€“ that we reduce emissions and slow the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," said Aled Jones, director of the Global Sustainability Institute at Anglia Ruskin University, who sits on the prize's Advisory Council. "The Keeling Curve Prize team brings together an impressive roster of judges, advisors and innovative applicants from around the world, and elevates solutions that can make a real difference in curbing the negative effects of climate change."

One 2018 Keeling Curve Prize winner, Chemolex, is turning invasive water hyacinth into biofuel for rural Kenyans, as a cleaner-burning alternative to charcoal and wood. Prize money allowed Chemolex to boost production from 600 to 5,000 liters of biofuel at a time.

"The prize money enabled Pollinate Energy to merge with Empower Generation and increase sales in Nepal by 400% over just two quarters," said Alexie Seller, Pollinate's CEO. "And winning the Keeling Curve Prize is like a validation stamp for your impact. Funders look to our success in highly regarded awards programs like this one."

In 2019, the Keeling Curve Prize will be awarded to ten winners in five categories: energy access, transportation, carbon capture and utilization, finance, and social and cultural impacts. Innovators from anywhere in the world may apply at www.kcurveprize.org.